The Theological Symposium committee invites proposals for open sectionals for the 34th Annual Theological Symposium, September 17-18, 2024, at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. The title this year is “Church and Technology: Promise and Peril.” Major technological advances are not for gamblers. They often fail to live up to their promises, but they never fail to deliver unintended consequences. There is, however, one sure thing: They will keep on coming. In the 21st Century, AI, virtual reality, social media, and medical breakthroughs are just some of the recent technological developments that o ..read more

This is part five in a series of posts by Dr. David Maxwell. The first was “What Should You Do With Anger and Desire?” The second was “Gregory of Nyssa: Direct the Passions.” The third was “Cyril of Alexandria: Lull Your Passions to Sleep.” The fourth was “Lutheran Theology: Kill Your Passions.” I said in the last post that I didn’t think a Stoic spirituality was the correct inference to draw from the Law/Gospel distinction. I have two examples to support my statement: Luther himself and article 1 of the Formula of Concord. If you read any of Luther’s writings at all ..read more

This is part four in a series of posts by Dr. David Maxwell. The first was “What Should You Do With Anger and Desire?” The second was “Gregory of Nyssa: Direct the Passions.” The third was “Cyril of Alexandria: Lull Your Passions to Sleep.” My sense is that Lutheran spirituality leans more in the Stoic direction than the Platonist one. We are more comfortable with Cyril than with Gregory, at least when it comes to what we think we should do with our passions. The strange thing is, we don’t seem to make this explicit. We just throw out Lutheran phrases and formulations and leave the hearers t ..read more

This is part three in a series of posts by Dr. David Maxwell. The first was “What Should You Do With Anger and Desire?” The second was “Gregory of Nyssa: Direct the Passions.” Cyril of Alexandria is a good example of a Christian appropriation of the Stoic view of the passions. The goal is not to direct them correctly, but to eliminate them as far as possible. Cyril does not think it is possible to eliminate them completely, which is why he uses the image of lulling them to sleep. Some passions, like the desire for food, simply can’t be avoided. But that doesn’t stop Cyril from voicing the wi ..read more

This is part two of a series of posts from Dr. David Maxwell. The first post was “What Should You Do With Anger and Desire?”  Gregory of Nyssa’s On the Soul and the Resurrection is a treatise that demonstrates what a Platonic spirituality of the passions looks like when Christians adopt it. The dialogue is a conversation between Gregory and his sister Macrina, who is attempting to comfort Gregory in the face of the death of their brother Basil, and Macrina’s own impending death. She does this by instructing him about the nature of the soul and the resurrection. They both agree that they ..read more

You have two jet engines in your soul: anger and desire. What are you supposed to do with them? Should you try to shut off the engines, or should you try to aim them in a constructive direction? This is a question that Western civilization has been grappling with for centuries, and Christianity is a part of that conversation.[1] The image of the two jet engines comes from Plato’s Republic (book 4, 439b), where he compares the soul to a chariot with two horses (ok, they’re not actually jet engines): θυμός (spiritedness or anger) and ἐπιθυμία (desire). These horses are controlled by the chariote ..read more

Welcome to Lectionary Kick-start! Each week Jessica Bordeleau hosts Dr. Peter Nafzger and Dr. David Schmitt in a discussion about the lectionary texts for the upcoming Sunday. The texts for the fourth Sunday in Lent, March 10th are from Numbers 21:4-9, Psalm 107:1-9, Ephesians 2:1-10, and John 3:14-21. Each Monday a new episode will be available here, CSL Scholar, and across all major podcast platforms. Check it out! The post Fourth Sunday in Lent appeared first on Concordia Theology ..read more

Concordia Seminary’s Dean of Theological Research and Publication Dr. Kevin Golden talks with Graduate Professor of Exegetical Theology Dr. James W. Voelz about his recent book, Principles of Biblical Interpretation for Everyone (Concordia Seminary Press, 2023), in this Concordia Journal Book Blurbs segment. Voelz has designed this inventive text for lay people who are intensely interested in doing in-depth interpretation of the sacred Scriptures. He looks at what readers encounter in English Bible translations and discusses everything from the manuscripts that stand behind those translations ..read more

Welcome to Lectionary Kick-start! Each week Jessica Bordeleau hosts Dr. Peter Nafzger and Dr. David Schmitt in a discussion about the lectionary texts for the upcoming Sunday. The texts for the third Sunday in Lent, March 3rd are from Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, and John 2:13-22 (23-25). We take you seriously. In response to your emails, we’ve sped up our production schedule. You can now find Lectionary Kick-start episodes available 2 weeks ahead of the Lectionary calendar! Each Monday a new episode will be available here, CSL Scholar, and across all major podcast platform ..read more

Concordia Seminary’s Dean of Theological Research and Publication Dr. Kevin Golden chats with Professor Emeritus Dr. Robert Kolb about his forthcoming book, Face to Face: Martin Luther’s View of Reality (Fortress Press, 2024), in this Concordia Journal Book Blurbs segment. The book provides an overview of Luther’s thought proceeds from the perspective of his use of the Latin preposition coram, “face-to-face with.” Kolb, a preeminent Luther scholar, proposes that under Luther’s use of dominant ancient concepts of reality in his day, he placed the foundation of relationships. Kolb wants readers ..read more